Following the Board of Governors' decision to lift a cap on new members, which had been in place since 2004, the number of invitees has increased by 57 percent since 176 individuals were invited to join in 2012.

Lopez, Tsujihara and Dawson represent a steady increase of minorities invited to join the organization, which has been widely criticized — for consisting of too many old, white males. In response, there has been a big push for diversity since Dawn Hudson’s tenure as CEO began in June 2011.

Both Hudson and president Hawk Koch asked the committees considering new members to take diversity into account when making their choices, several Academy insiders told TheWrap. However the suggestion created some division among the Academy with some members feeling that decisions should be made on the sole basis of career achievement.

While the inclusion of performers Lucy Liu, Alma Martinez, Michael Peña, Paula Patton, Chris Tucker and Sandra Oh, as well as director Steve McQueen, cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bing, composer Joe Hisaishi, and costume designer Paco Delgado represent the increase in minority membership, the percentage of women invited, compared to men, is only slightly larger than the last two years. In 2012, 31 percent of invitees were female, while this year's crop is 32 percent female.

As TheWrap predicted a few months ago, the documentary branch saw an enourmous increase of potential new members. 43 individuals — 19 of them female — were invited to join this year, compared to just 11 last year.

"These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today," Koch said in a statement. "Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy."